Australian senator makes history by breastfeeding her baby in Parliament

Senator Larissa Waters made history when she breastfed her baby in Australia’s Parliament. PHOTO/COURTESYBy SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTnewsdesk@reporter.co.keA 2-month-old made history in Australia — becoming the first baby to be breastfed in that country’s Parliament.The little girl, named Alia Joy, is the newborn daughter of Queensland Sen. Larissa Waters.Waters, co-deputy leader of Australia’s Green party, returned from maternity leave Tuesday, with her second daughter in tow.When Alia Joy was hungry, she fed her.So proud that my daughter Alia is the first baby to be breastfed in the federal Parliament! We need more #women & parents in Parli #auspolpic.twitter.com/w34nxWxG0y— Larissa Waters (@larissawaters) May 9, 2017“So proud that my daughter Alia is the first baby to be breastfed in the federal Parliament!,” Waters tweeted. “We need more #women & parents in Parli.”The Australian Parliament changed its rules last year to allow female lawmakers to nurse their infants in the chamber. Before that, children were banned from the chamber. And breastfeeding mothers were given a proxy vote.Waters, who was influential in the rule change, said in November, “If we want more young women in Parliament, we must make the rules more family friendly to allow new mothers and new fathers to balance their parliamentary and parental duties.”On International Woman’s Day, while Waters was still on maternity leave, the senator announced the birth of her daughter and hinted about what was to come.“(Alia) is even more inspiration for continuing our work to address gender inequality and stem dangerous climate change. (And yes, if she’s hungry, she will be breastfed in the Senate chamber).”Alia isn’t the first baby to be fed during political proceedings.In 2016, a politician in Iceland breastfed her one-month-old child while speaking at the national parliament.In what the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service called a first, Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir, an MP for the Independence Party, fed her baby during a debate on the proposed Foreigners Act.Source: CNN

Help us report stories that expose environmental degradation, deforestation, pollution, poaching and ivory trade, illegal fishing, dumping of toxic waste, e-waste and plastics, illegal mining, climate change and impacts of global warming on different sectors of the economy and communities, not only in Africa, but also across the globe. While traditional news reporting is losing its relevance, serious investigative journalism requires more than basic journalistic skills. To do this we require a lot of resources.You can either BECOME A SPONSOR or MAKE A CONTRIBUTION

Nelson Mandela once said: “A critical, independent, and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favor. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.”

If you like our journalism support us to continue bringing you groundbreaking and agenda setting stories.